The Canada 150 Auction

June 27, 2017

LOT 557

Lot 557

Catharine Parr Traill

Catharine Parr Traill
Lot 557 Details
Catharine Parr Traill

THE BACKWOODS OF CANADA: BEING LETTERS FROM THE WIFE OF AN EMIGRANT OFFICER

18mo. early edition, half leather binding with marbleized paper boards, Charles Knight, 22, Ludgate Street, London, 1836

Estimate $150-$250

Realised: $900
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Note:

The sisters Catherine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, born in England in 1802 and 1803, respectively, are two of Canada’s most celebrated and important authors of the 19th century. Raised in comfortable settings with moderate wealth, the sisters were well educated and both began writing at an young age. When Susanna moved to London in 1831, she maintained her association with the Anti-Slavery society and wrote two anti-slavery tracts, evidencing her humanitarian and moral proclivities. Each sister married in the following year and soon after immigrated to rural Canada, settling first in Cobourg, Ontario and eventually moved north to the Otonabee River, in what is now Lakefield. In these trying early years, both sisters recorded their experiences in stories and poems, which they sent out with reasonable success to various magazines and newspapers in North America. In 1836 Catherine wrote The Backwoods of Canada, characterizing her early days in the wilderness and encounters with indigenous groups with factual and pragmatic detail. Susanna was equally prolific, becoming the primary contributor for the Montreal magazine, Literary Garland, and published Roughing it in the Bush in 1852, a sombre but imaginative account of her life in Canada, wherein she blends the factual and fictional to create a diaristic narrative of early immigration and settlement. Both sisters wrote with an acutely realistic style, an approach which is now regarded as a Canadian literary tradition. Susanna moved to Belleville in 1840, after her husband was appointed first Sheriff of the newly formed Hastings County. It was here that the Moodies’ more liberal leanings clashed with the town’s strident pro-Tory conservatism, yet Susanna earned critical acclaim, both at home and abroad, for her writing nonetheless. By the latter half of the century, Susanna grew tired of the literary world and turned her attention to watercolour painting; a skill which she passed onto her daughter Agnes, who eventually collaborated with Catherine to publish Canadian Wild Flowers in 1867, a beautifully illustrated and still coveted book on native Ontario plants and flowers. Surviving both of their husbands, these iconic sisters endured years of poverty, isolation, and loneliness in an unforgiving landscape with a resilient pioneering spirit, and their literary contributions not only deepened British understanding of its colonies, but also fostered a sense of Canadian national identity, both then and now.

CONDITION DETAILS

Rebound in original spine and boards, newer end papers. Edges scuffe. P. 81-88 missing, but appear not to have been bound in originally. No half title

LOT 557
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.